The Esoterics

We have now entered concert week for SPLENDOR & SOLACE! This concert will feature Eric Banks’ composition, Try to understand. This work was originally composed in 2018 for St Jakob’s Chamber Choir, directed by Gary Graden in Stockholm, Sweden. Inspired by novelist Umberto Eco and his historical work Baudolino, the story of a woman named Hypatia, who is descended from the ancient Greek “martyr for philosophy” of the same name and the queen of the legendary Amazons. In this story, Baudolino and Hypatia fall in love, and discuss the various mysteries of life. This discussion, and Hypatia’s attempts to describe God, are the text which make up the libretto of Try to understand.

As the two share their views on the various mysteries of life, Hypatia (who is contrasted with the Catholicism of Baudolino), describes God, “the unique one,” through phrases that express what God is not, claiming that the human mind is not capable of understanding God: “…God embraces all but is nothing; because whatever you say about it, you will never fully convey God: …a lamp without flame, a flame without fire, a fire without heat, a somber light.”

Eric recalls “When Baudolino, a Catholic, asks Hypatia about her belief in God, her response is one of the most captivating descriptions of a deity that I’ve ever encountered. Some scholars even think that these few paragraphs might encompass Eco’s personal creed. In these phrases, Hypatia’s God is described as a combination of opposites – such as good and evil, or light and darkness – for God encompasses all things that are known to us. Also, her concept of God is not capable of being grasped by human intelligence and language – hence her entreaty to the already-religious Baudolino to “try to understand,” as he struggles to comprehend her perspective.”

Try to understand will be sung by a double chorus in Eco’s Italian as well as William Weaver’s English translation, accompanied by a 12-part string orchestra, including the members of the Skyros String Quartet.

For more information about this project and to purchase tickets, please visit theesoterics.org/next

Photos:
Hypatia, painting by Julius Kronberg
Umberto Eco, by the New York Times

It is said that the American naturalist John Muir died asleep in his bed while finishing the final lines of the last chapter of his book "Travels in Alaska." These lines, "...in supreme, serene, supernal beauty..." were describing the aurora borealis, which he witnessed four times on his journeys there.

Last night was a special night for many, because the recent solar storm made it possible for people to see the Northern lights for the first time. This includes me. Last night was MY first time seeing the aurora - but it wasn't for a lack of trying. I've been to Alaska SIX times - including a trip to Barrow (Utqiagvik) on the remote north coast with my friend Tim Fosket with the specific purpose to see the lights that were forecast -- but it was too cloudy. The lights have even come to Seattle before. But alas, I was out of town...

Last night, The Esoterics and I had our first orchestral rehearsal for our SPLENDOR & SOLACE concert next weekend, and the 40-minute work that closes the concert is my piece "To have been there before." Commissioned by Grant Cochran and the Anchorage Concert Chorus back in 2018, this piece sets 11 different sections of Muir's "Travels in Alaska" in both English and Tlingit. At the end of rehearsal, before we sang through the final movement (which sets Muir's gorgeous descriptions of four different auroras), one of the singers reminded us all of the solar storm, and that the aurora was supposed to be visible for us, just minutes after rehearsal ended. Honestly, I have had such bad luck viewing the Northern lights in the past that I almost shrugged it off and let the experience continue to live on in my imagination...

I got home, exhausted after conducting for three hours, still jet-lagged from my trip to Taiwan, and plopped down on the couch. I started scrolling on my phone, and the first post I saw was by a Seattle friend who had photographed the aurora just two minutes earlier. Immediately, I vault off the couch, sprang upstairs to my deck, turned out all of the lights, and THERE IT WAS... all over the sky, surrounding around me. Clouds of raspberry, lemon, and mint -- with daggers of chartreuse, limoncello, and chambord.

Like Muir, after seeing such a spectacle in the sky, I couldn't even think about sleeping. I just stayed there in a deck chair, watched it until it faded away, and then waited for another. Now, it's morning, and I still can't believe: my good fortune to have seen it at all, the irony to have had the experienced it AT HOME, and the incredible coincidence to have witnessed it right after singing about it, with all of Muir's texts fresh in my mind. The dream of this moment that I held onto for so long became real, and is now a memory. It was so much MORE than I thought it would be, and I am SO grateful. :-)

Thanks to all of our GIVE BIG donors, The Esoterics raised over $5,600 during this year's campaign. We appreciate you all so much! And now, back making art! THANK YOU AGAIN and AGAIN, and we hope to see you next weekend at SPLENDOR & SOLACE!

GIVE BIG starts today! -

GIVE BIG starts today!

Give BIG is just a week away! -

Give BIG is just a week away! Dear friends, Here's a candid shot that one of our tenors - Jonathan You - snapped of me and soprano Kelly Baker after our 30th anniversary concert last December. I was enjoying the afterglow of our world premiere commission, A calendar of light. After a week of recording sessions, The Esoterics p...

celebrated 🎉 30 years in 2023! In no small part due to donations from people like YOU! 🫵 We are grateful! 🫶

❗Early Giving is now in progress for ❗

Be part of our 31st season and help us reach our goal of $31k! 🎶🦋🌞🤗 When you schedule your gift today, it will go toward ensuring that our adventurous programming and choral virtuosity will continue to inspire audiences around the world.

Please GiveBIG today! https://www.wagives.org/organization/The-Esoterics

Rehearsals are back and we are so excited to present our next project soon!! Stay tuned for an exciting announcement 🥂🍾🎶🌲🏔️

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is the Esoterics’ very own founding director Eric Banks. In this project, the combined 100 voices of the Yale Glee Club and the Esoterics will be singing Eric’s 2011 composition, Voices. Eric wrote the following on this composition:

“Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933) was the son of a wealthy Greek shipping magnate who spent most of his life in Alexandria and Istanbul. He is best known for his poetic recreations of classic images of ancient Greece, and is one of my favorite poets.
In late 2008, I was immersed in the process of choosing among Cavafy’s poems for two separate commissions…I was translating Cavafy’s poems, and arranging them into libretti when I got the news of Fenno Heath’s passing. As I was reading through these hundreds of verses, Voices (1904) spoke to me as the perfect text to commemorate Fenno’s life, his music, and his ever-abiding effect over generations of choral singers, including me.
Fenno was a huge influence over my decision to become a choral conductor and composer, and he was my first teacher in both of these disciplines. While my career as a conductor has taken me beyond the reaches of New Haven, and my compositions embrace languages and singing traditions from all over the world, my debt to Fenno for his early guidance is enormous…Fenno’s unorthodox gestures and humorous approach to discipline are a huge part of my own conducting; and even though my music sounds very little like his, as I write, I can hear Fenno’s voice in my memory, gently reinforcing his rules that guide me to this day.”

In his compositions, Eric is drawn to ideas that are more esoteric in origin, and chooses to express and elucidate concepts that have been undiscovered, under-represented, or are not easily decipherable by a wider audience. As a composer, Banks has harnessed his passions for poetry, foreign language, classical civilization, comparative religion, social justice, and the history of science – to create choral works that reach far beyond the scope of the established a ca****la canon.

Photos:
Headshot of Eric Banks, by Jonathan You
Headshot of Eric Banks, by Johnathan You
Original Greek poem, penned by Cavafy

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Aaron Jay Kernis. In this project, we will be performing the second movement, Returning, of the four-movement composition The wheel of time, the dance. The Esoterics have performed Kernis’s work several times, starting in one of our first seasons in 1999 with the composition Ecstatic meditations. The entirety of The wheel of time, the dance has been performed in the 2015 SUBLITOR project and the 2017 INTIMAS project.

The text for this piece comes from Wendell Berry’s poem, Returning.

Aaron Jay Kernis, born in 1960, is a celebrated American composer known for his eclectic and innovative style. Raised in Philadelphia, he honed his craft at the San Francisco Conservatory and the Yale School of Music. Kernis’s compositions, spanning orchestral, chamber, vocal, and solo genres, are marked by their emotional depth and rich harmonic language. He has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1998 for his String Quartet No. 2. Kernis’s works are performed worldwide by leading orchestras and ensembles, solidifying his place as a prominent figure in contemporary classical music.

Learn more about Aaron and his work at https://aaronjaykernis.com/

Photos:
Headshot of Aaron Jay Kernis, by Richard Bowditch
Aaron with James Ehnes after U.S. Premiere of Violin Concerto with Seattle Symphony (photo: Jim Holt)
The poem Returning, Wendell Berry

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Caroline Shaw. In this project, we are singing Caroline’s 2017 composition, And the swollow, which features text from Psalm 84. This work was first performed on November 11, 2017, by the Netherlands Chamber Choir, who commissioned this composition.

Caroline Shaw is a graduate of Yale’s class of 2007 for her MM and is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, an honorary doctorate from Yale, and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and tv series including Fleishman is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Maid, Dark, and Beyonce’s Homecoming.

Learn more about Caroline and her work at https://carolineshaw.com/

Photos:
Headshot of Caroline Shaw

Hello friends!

I'm very excited that The Esoterics and I will be able to host my undergraduate chorus, the Yale Glee Club next weekend in concerts in both Seattle and Tacoma! This is the first time in its 168-year history that YGC has toured to the PNW, and we are honored to be singing a joint concert with them.

YGC is where I fell in love with choral music, decided to become a conductor, and had my first conducting responsibilities as an undergrad (back in the 80s!), before I moved to Seattle. It's truly a "full circle" moment for me - and I hope you can join us for this truly special concert! (Concert and livestream link below.)

The Esoterics begins its 31st season with LIGHT & TRUTH -- 100 voices strong! -

The Esoterics begins its 31st season with LIGHT & TRUTH -- 100 voices strong! Dear friends, For the first concert of its 31st season, The Esoterics is excited to welcome the Yale Glee Club to the Pacific Northwest. In its 163-year history, this is the very first time that the YGC has toured in the PNW, and we are honored to be their hosts! With concerts in both Seattle and...

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Rex Isenberg. In this project, we will be revisiting Rex’s composition If we have wisdom, a setting of the text from George Washington’s letter to the Hebrew National Congregation in 1790. This work was premiered in 2023 by the Esoterics at our VILLAINS & HEROES concert, featuring If we have wisdom and Messiahs: False and true, during which Rex had the following commentary to offer:


“My husband’s (family) customarily reads a copy of this letter every year at their family Thanksgiving, and it is hanging in my husband’s family’s house. It’s a beautiful expression of religious freedom, the right to self determination…and it’s a fascinating artifact of our history. The line that really stood out to me is…’everyone shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid’, and I hope that comes true. I hope that’s the future for all Americans, regardless of their background or identity”

Isenberg was Composer-in-Residence for Choral Chameleon in 2016-17, and his oratorio Messiahs: False and true was recorded by Choral Chameleon on their debut album, Deus Ex Machina, in 2021, with Tony-nominated actor Paul Hecht as featured narrator. Isenberg has been a fellow at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

Isenberg holds a BA in Music from Yale University. While at Yale, he was a member of The Whiffenpoofs, and will be joining us in Seattle next weekend to enjoy our performances and take part in the raucous Yale choral traditions.

Learn more about Rex and his work at https://www.rexisenberg.com/

Photos:
1) Headshot of Rex Isenberg
2) Headshot of Rex Isenberg
3) Rex and Esoterics founding director, Eric Banks, at our 30th Anniversary Gala
3) Excerpt of George Washington’s letter, from the national archives

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Reena Esmail. We are singing Reena’s 2014 composition,
Tuttarana.

The text of this piece does not contain words, but instead uses onomatopoeic syllables in Hindi that are used for rhythmic improvisation (called tarana).

Reena says of Tuttarana:
“The title of this piece…combines the Italian word ‘tutti’, means ‘all’ or ‘everyone’, and the term ‘tarana’ designates a specific Hindustani (North Indian) musical form, whose closest Western counterpart is the ‘scat’ in jazz. Made up of rhythmic syllables,
a tarana is the singer’s chance to display agility and dexterity. While a Hindustani tarana is a solo form, I wanted to bring the tarana into an ensemble setting

Three years after I wrote this piece, the movement, created by Tarana Burke broke on social media. It occurred to me that the title of this piece, if read a different way, literally means “We are all Tarana.” ...I’m so grateful for what this movement has
done to move the discussion forward about the horrors we face as women, and how we can begin to change and heal our society..”

Reena graduated in 2011, 2014, and 2018 from Yale School of Music with her MM, MMA, and DMA. You may recognize her name from the 2018 VULNERABILITY project, in which the Esoterics sang Reena’s compositions, Even after all this time and When the violin. We look forward to bringing the unbridled joy of
Tuttarana to our audience soon!

Learn more about Reena and her work at https://www.reenaesmail.com/

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Christopher Theofanidis. In this project, we will be singing the third piece, November prayer, from a four-movement work, Messages to myself, that Christopher published in 2007. You may recognize Messages to myself from the 2017 INTIMAS repertoire. The Esoterics also performed November prayer in 2019 and 2021.

Christopher says about this composition: “I wrote these four unaccompanied choral works at the request of my friend, Robert Simpson, and his excellent group, The Houston Chamber Choir. I had been thinking of all of the poetry that had been meaningful to me personally over the years, and I decided to choose four of those poems which seemed to have particular staying power in my life and have become a resonating chamber for my way of thinking. The third poem (November prayer) is from Amy Kirsten, a kindred spirit whose words and generosity have meant an enormous amount to me personally in recent years.”

Amy Kirsten, also a composer and songwriter, is married to Christopher Theofanidis and the two have collaborated on several projects.

In addition to his compositions for choral ensembles, Christopher Theofanidis also has an extensive repertoire for symphony, string soloists and ensembles, guitar, percussion, wind ensembles, saxophone, opera, and ballet.

Christopher graduated from Yale with his MMA in 1994 and DMA in 1997, and is currently a professor there, as well as the composer-in-residence and co-director of the composition program at the Aspen Music Festival.

Learn more about Christopher’s work at theofanidismusic.com

Photos:
1) Headshot of Christopher, by Matthew Fried
2) November prayer, by Amy Kirsten

The LIGHT & TRUTH Composer Feature today is Karen Siegel. In this project, we will be singing Despertar, which uses a technique Karen calls “overtone trills” to create a shimmering texture. Singers are directed to change their mouth shape to vary the overtones that the listener hears, which, layered with the melodies and thrumming harmonies, solicit the effect of pulsating light. This work was commissioned by a consortium which included the Yale Glee Club, and was premiered by YGC in 2022.

Karen was the 2014-2015 Polyphonos winner for the National Composer category, for which the Esoterics commissioned her to create Clouds ephemeral, which was premiered in the 2015 SUBTILIOR project. The recording for this premiere can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9kMP9O1rWQ

Learn more about Karen’s work at karensiegel.com

Photos:
1) Headshot of Karen, by Brian Critz
2) Text of Despertar, in Spanish
3) Text of Despertar, English translation

The Esoterics are proud to present our first concert of the year, LIGHT & TRUTH, a translation of the Yale motto, Lux et Veritas. We will be hosting the world-renowned Yale Glee Club for the Pacific Northwest leg of their national tour. In this concert, they will perform selections from their tour repertoire and the Esoterics will perform compositions of Yale-educated composers. Our 100 voices will combine to perform two pieces together, one of which was composed by our very own founding director, Eric Banks.

Performances are in Seattle on March 9th and Tacoma on March 10th, details and tickets can be accessed at theesoterics.org/next

Over the next four weeks, we will be featuring some of the composers you’ll be hearing in this concert, and we are excited to be partnering with Yale Glee Club (YGC) and Yale composers for this project.

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing audience at our concert last night. We had a blast, and we hope you did too!
There’s one more chance to hear Shadows and Sun-A calendar of light. We’ll sing tonight in Tacoma at Christ Episcopal Church!!
Tix in bio

from December light

And then the luminous dawns,
the pearled skies full of hope
no matter what else we know…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from Light of late November

Thought darkness gathers,
praise our crazy fallen world;
it’s all we have,
and it’s never enough…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from Some October

When the sky turns blue
as the robes of heaven,
ask me if I’ve made a difference…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from O September

When the rest of the garden
dwindles to meager,
when the trees begin
their strip to the bone…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from August

And there’s the first night
you step outside
and hear the katydids arguing…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from July

It’s still summer,
and the breeze is full of sweetness
spilled from a million petals…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma

from June

In the grass,
fireflies rise in their sultry dance,
little love notes that flicker…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma

https://TheEsoterics.org/next

from May

The late day sun shines
through pink wisteria
with its green and white leaves
as if it were stained glass…

A calendar of light by Dale Trumbore
photo by Krysti Sabins | poem by Barbara Crooker
a world premiere choral concert
by The Esoterics and Eric Banks
9-10 December 2023 | Seattle-Tacoma
https://TheEsoterics.org/next